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Scientific Publications: Free for all?

: Norwich, North; it is important to get that distinction right. In his service to the Committee, the hon. Gentleman did a huge amount to raise the profiles of the Committee and of science and technology, and I am convinced that he will continue to do so as a Member of the House. The way in which he spoke today showed the passion and expertise that he brought to bear on many of the subjects into which we inquired. My hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough has a hard act to follow, but with his mixture of intelligence and a mischievous sense of humour he will continue to build on the strong start that he has made and will make the Committee just as incisive and as pleasurable to serve on as it was before. I suppose that the third hat that I, and all other hon. Members present, wear is that of a Member who is prepared to stay and debate on a Thursday afternoon near to Christmas. The fact that this is such an important subject is one reason why we are here—not just out of duty. I share the views of my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough; when I first came to serve on the Committee, I did not think that the subject was one to fill the seats. I had not heard a huge amount about the debate and was surprised that every oral evidence session had a packed gallery and that the inquiry was followed closely in the scientific and academic worlds and press. I should have realised that the stakes were high when we were subjected to a huge amount of lobbying from both sides of the argument; from the open access advocates to the publishers, as is entirely their right. Our report struck a good balance between those two arguments. We did not fall victim to taking on trust some of the optimism and idealism of the open access campaigners. Neither would we read into the record briefings from the publishers without subjecting them to careful scrutiny. I had many heated discussions—even arguments—with publishers from my constituency and elsewhere, which were useful in helping me to clarify the key issues. One such publisher, Bob Campbell, who was mentioned by the hon. Member for Wantage, is a very clever man. I mean that as a compliment; that is not always the case in this House. He brought a dimension to the debate, even from the publishers' side, that was important. The report was right to strike the balance that it did, and I share the concern of those who regret that it was apparently misinterpreted, to an extent, by the Government, at least in relation to the response. On reflection, I do not necessarily agree with every recommendation in the report, which failed to stress certain matters on which I will touch. This is not a party political matter, so much of what I say will represent not the position of a political party, but my reflections on the issue. Let us be clear; when the Royal Society puts out a position statement, tens of its most eminent members write in protest and emails scurry backwards and forwards, we know that this is a highly contentious and controversial matter. Although one cannot guarantee this, the lack of research about the scope for an alternative model, which would work by means of encouragement and evolution, or by mandating public-funded funders of research, probably makes the correspondence and exchanges on this issue more heated. One of the Committee's recommendations was for the Government not to conduct, but to commission research on this key matter. The Government are right that it is not a matter just for this country and that we must see ourselves in a global perspective. The National Institutes of Health have taken a lead in the United States, but the negotiations with the publishing sector, which is equally commercially minded and is, I suspect, as effective as a lobbyist as the sector in this country, were not straightforward. The NIH did not have an easy ride mandating better free access to publicly funded and NIH-funded research. My first point, therefore, is that this issue is crying out for research. There is a role, if not for the Government, then for social science research funders, to look at the matter and perhaps agree the terms of reference. My hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough introduced the debate fairly and was right to stress the points that he did in respect of the report. I shall not repeat them, but I look forward to the Government's response. On the comments of the hon. Member for Norwich, North and his appropriate praise for Emily Commander, we have probably broken all the rules in the House about not embarrassing Clerks of Committees. I shall not pursue the issue further, save by deepening the sin and agreeing wholeheartedly with what has been said. The hon. Member for Wantage did us a service by stating clearly the publishers' perspective, and his comments deserve a great deal of scrutiny for their own sake and because they represent the view of many publishers. He is right that there are many employees of publishing companies in my constituency, which contains the headquarters of several publishers, including Reed Elsevier, Oxford University Press and many others. Many of those people—this is a general problem in the publishing world—tell me that the rates of pay in commercial publishing are not great. The work force is female-dominated, and the relatively low rates of pay in the publishing world are one reason for the continuing pay gap for female graduates. That is hard to equate with the significant profits that some organisations make. I am not criticising employers, but simply making the point that there are several issues that concern those from the publishing world, and the low pay of women, particularly women editors, is one of which I am aware. Those women object to the fact that they are in their late 20s and 30s and have to live in shared houses in a high-cost area in Oxfordshire, and the hon. Gentleman will be aware of the problem.